I was in Double Midnight Comics over the weekend and was thrilled to stumble across what I thought was one of my favorite action figures from childhood. Readers of this blog are familiar with my love for all things 1966 Batman, and it was awesome to see Adam West make a comeback in the toy aisle.

But wait a minute: Aren’t those eyes a little too bright and cheery to be Batman’s? Hey, are those girl’s eyes? — and doesn’t it look a little like there are breasts protruding underneath the bat logo? “Hold on,” I said just as I saw the fine print at the bottom of the package. “This looks like Barbie!”

The Barbie-ification of Batman

Of course, that’s exactly who it is. And congrats to Mattel for its amazing retro packaging. Not that there’s anything wrong with guys who collect Barbies, but I left this one on the shelf.

Far more tempting is this Bat-Potato!

Batman Mr. Potato Head follows the spirit of 1966 and Super Friends Batman, not the gloomy Christian Bale Dark Knight.

But back to the doll. Wouldn’t Mattel have an even greater hit with a Yvonne Craig Batgirl Barbie? They do a 1966 Catwoman Barbie — more of a Julie Newmar Catwoman than an Eartha Kitt. But Batgirl would give them an excuse to do a special limited edition collector’s two-pack of Batgirl and librarian Barbara Gordon.

Just speculating here, but I’m betting that Yvonne Craig and Julie Newmar have no desire to be immortalized as Mrs. Potato Heads!

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Just discovered that Mattel supposedly put a Ken doll underneath the cowl. I’m not buying it. No self-respecting Batman has a waist that tiny. Also, Mattel has previously come out with a comic book version of Batgirl Barbie, but no 1966 version. Yikes, I am starting to sound like Comic Book Guy on The Simpsons!

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Since 6th grade, when I risked daily dogbites to bring people the news, I've devoted my life to the joys of print and broadcast journalism. I'm available for freelance writing assignments, offbeat magazine stories, high-stake corporate gigs and TV field production, teaming up with the most talented HD camera crews and editors in Boston. Contact me at darrengarnick (at) gmail.com